The celebration of marriages in rural as well as urban areas is a very interesting affair. The rich class, consisting of the elite class and the feudal landlords celebrate the marriages with the typical pomp and show, characteristic of their hereditary grandeur. The notables, including top notch politicians, ministers, and influential bureaucrats in both the civil section and the army, are invited on these wedding occasions. In case the wedding is held in the village of the landlord, adequate arrangements are made for seating the guests under a canopy. The guests are served with a variety of cold drinks.

On the arrival of the bridegroom, crackers are fired, followed by the display of music and band. The bridegroom is brought in the form of a procession followed by his close relatives including both ladies and gents, and is seated on a tastefully decorated platform. The Nikah ceremony is performed by a cleric, uniting the couple into a matrimonial bond. Thereafter, guns are fired in the air, and sweets in the form of dates and sweeties are distributed among the invitees. It marks the celebration of the auspicious ceremony.

Different types of dishes are served to the guests at the wedding. You can observe a lot of variety in the dishes. The rich feudal lords can afford to spend lavishly in the decoration and celebration of marriages. A large dowry is given to the bridegroom, sometimes including a car, along with many other luxury items.

The poor also celebrate marriages according to their economic position. Many families run into debt in the race to uphold their hereditary customs. The poor also serve the guest with cold drinks and offer one or two customary dishes like the very special and traditional “pulao” and “zarda”. In case of certain families, the bridegroom is taken to the holy shrine of a saint to pray for the blessings of the departed soul for the successful life of the couple.

At the time of the departure of the bride, parents and relatives shed tears over the prospect of the girl’s permanent separation from her parents’ house. It is a very touching view to put up with. When the bridegroom leaves with the bride, the hustle and bustle ends almost abruptly with the very sad scene. Guests depart and the place of the wedding presents a desolate look. That is how moments of activity alternates with moments of dullness, as tempo of life does not remain uniform.

Marriages in big cities mostly take place in rented marriage halls, where all facilities are provided to the gests. The food is served by private catering services, which may include a variety of dishes, as afforded by the budget of the bride’s family. The rich and the middle class families book marriage halls, where all rituals including the nikah ceremony are held. The poor families arrange the observance of the ceremonies relating to marriages in their own mohallas.

The rich people demonstrate their superiority by way of serving rich dishes, apart from giving a large dowry to their daughters, etc. Dowry system is not a healthy custom, as it creates a problem for the poor girls. Their daughters, howsoever educated and disciplined, remain unwedded simply because their parents cannot come up to the economic expectations of the bridegroom’s family. Marriage, as it appears now a days, are not done in the name of virtue and peace, but in the name of material gifts, which are rather incapable of bestowing happiness and peace of mind on the people. Dowry is the off shoot of rising material aspirations of people at large. This custom needs to be done away with, to ensure a peaceful and happy married life.